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You guys love lists, and we love to start our holiday weekend early, so thanks VH1 for putting together this 100 Greatest Artists Of All Time countdown. (Spoiler Alert: No Wavves…) You should compare it to VH1’s 100 Greatest Artists Of Rock & Roll from 1998 (back when VH1 was VH-1) to see some of the overlaps/differences. For starters: The Top 5 “Rock” vs “Of All Time” is the same group, except for Jimi Hendrix who’s been pushed to No. 6. It’ll also give you an idea of how VH1 defines rock & roll. And how much it sucks to be the Eagles. Trivia: Which artist has drunkenly crashed his car the most times? Highest ranked artist to be pelted with plastic bottles? Did Biggie beat Tupac? Which version of Journey made it? But it’s not all about long-suffering has-beens: I, for one, am happy for Def Leppard. It’s worth noting the top 5 are in alphabetical order (reverse alphabetical order for our purposes); you’ll have to tune in next week for the full reveal. The rest are ranked.
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Pavement are no strangers to cool contests, but this latest one definitely beats roaming around IKEA with Bob Nastanovich (no offense Bob/Sweden). Pavement will perform on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon 9/23 and one lucky fan will be joining the band on guitar. To enter, upload a video of yourself covering one of the songs listed below by Wednesday 9/8 at 4:35 AM ET. You also have to live in the continental United States, since the winner will be flown out to NY for the occasion. A “panel of qualified judges” will pick five finalists; then we (the Internet) will vote on the winner.
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Earlier this week we posted about Vampire Weekend covering Bruce Springsteen’s “I’m Going’ Down” at Malkin Bowl in Vancouver. The guys just sat down for Seattle’s 107.7 The End’s 200th “Endsession” and did a clearer, stripped-down acoustic take. (Still no sax solo.)
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Black Mountain brought “Old Fangs” — and most importantly, “Old Fangs”’s sweet organ riff — to Late Night last night. But the best part may be watching the girls in baby doll tops gently nodding their heads behind the band:
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Longstanding Thin Lizzy/Judas Priest-loving, Fenriz-approved, ’70s/’80s-metal torch carrying San Francisco underground metal heroes (and Hammers Of Misfortune/Ludicra pals) Slough Feg have signed with Profound Lore to release their eight album, The Animal Spirits, the followup to last year’s similary hairy Ape Uprising!. Ape made my 2009 Honorable Mention list, but I didn’t love it as much as I do the rest of the band’s unparalleled output (see, especially, Traveller, Twilight of The Idols, Down Among The Deadmen, and my dark horse favorite Hardworlder). Great news: The Animal Spirits is a true return to the band’s anthemic, brainy classic metal/rock form. Per usual, main man Mike Scalzi writes some of the best riffs you’ll ever hear, and the man’s lyrics are always ambitious and smart. This time out, though, as with all the best of his material, the songs are old familiar favorites after one listen. See for yourself via “The 95 Thesis” and “Free Market Barbarian.”
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Jimmy Fallon’s done some impressive musical impressions on Late Night, so he brought out a few more for the Emmy Awards last night. He used Elton John, Boyz II Men, and Green Day to eulogize some of the big shows that ended this year (and recycled the 40oz pour out he used when saying goodbye to Conan O’Brien). He also opened the show with a Glee-themed rendition of Springsteen’s “Born To Run.” Watch:
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Vampire Weekend’s cover of “I’m Goin’ Down” lacks Clarence Clemens and a little E Street oomph. The guys gave the Born In The U.S.A. track a go in Canada (Malkin Bowl, Vancouver) over the weekend (8/28). There’s something enjoyable about the restraint. A few folks sang along.
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People are wearing more black in 2010. It’s hard to pinpoint why/when folks started ransacking the goth, ’80s new (and colder) wave, UK dream-pop, and icier post-punk sections of their record collection, but as a big fan of all the aforementioned, I appreciate the shift (as well as the crossover of bands who’ve been doing it all along). I thought Abe Vigoda’s Skeleton had its moments — and was definitely more interesting than a lot of schlock getting hyped in 2008 — but their upcoming fourth collection Crush is great. Gone is the “tropical punk rock” of the past. (Maybe consider it a New Romantic extension of the “Skeleton” video?) Vocalist Michael Vidal’s quoted saying they were directly inspired by Arthur Russell and “cold wave and minimal wave stuff.” The band also cites the “regimented beats” of new drummer Dane Chadwick, who assisted with melodies and handled most of the electronics. The colorful L.A. warmth’s been replaced by frozen synths, swirling sequencers, more melancholic vocal lines, and icy guitar lines all while maintaining the catchiness and upswing you’d expect. (Spurned Interpol fans in search of big choruses should jump ship toward this.) See, for instance, “To Tears,” a track that features one of the collection’s sunnier (jagged) guitar lines.
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Our first taste of Pop Negro, El Guincho’s followup to BTW-era Alegranza, came via ebullient opener “Bombay.” When asked about what went into the new collection, Pablo Díaz-Reixav mentioned that he “did some research on radio hits/big selling singles in North America, South America, England and Spain in the late 70’s, 80’s and early 90’s” and that he “found out that a massive percentage of these hits were engineered (sometimes also produced) by just around 40/50 different guys.” It gets especially interesting when you dig deeper and then apply it to “FM Tan Sexy.”
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Courtney Love already hates her, so Gossip Girl’s Carrie Wright Taylor Momsen probably didn’t think twice about dissing Rihanna in Spin a few weeks back. “People think pop is rock, and the lines are getting blurred,” she said. “Now Rihanna’s wearing fucking leather jackets, and it’s really annoying.”
Whoops.
So to prove she actually thinks Rihanna is “very talented,” Little J and a member of her band the Pretty Reckless stopped by Radio 1’s Live Lounge to perform an acoustic mashup of the xx’s “Islands” and Eminem & Rihanna’s “Love The Way You Lie.”
The Pretty Reckless – “Islands/Love The Way You Lie” (Acoustic)
Thanks (I think) for the tip Graham.
And here’s the dinner party for “Miss Nothing” which cost $7,000 in eyeshadow alone:
Nice goblets. Eat your heart out, Kanye.
The Pretty Reckless’ debut LP features a toddler in a leather jacket on the cover and can be pre-ordered for a reasonable $27.89 on Amazon.com. The fourth season of Gossip Girl premieres on the CW 9/13 and will be mocked promptly by Videogum.
No word if Momsen has read Get In The Van.
